last ditch effort to avoid going over the fiscal cliff. the hope is both sides can agree to a compromise to prevent the economy from sliding back into recession. judging from the rhetoric on capitol hill, there's a long way to go. here's the day on the hill. >> if we go over the cliff we'll be left with the knowledge that could have been prevented with a single vote in the republican-controlled house of representatives. the american people i don't think understand the house of representatives is operating without the house of representatives. it's being operated with a dictatorship of the speaker not allowing the vast majority of the house representatives to get what they want. >> we're coming up against a hard deadline here, and as i said, this is a conversation we should have had months ago. republicans aren't about to write a blank check for anything senate democrats put forward just because we find ourselves at the edge of the cliff. >> it is somewhat like taking your child hostage and saying to somebody else, i'm going to shoot my chi